The present invention relates to an apparatus for extracting juice from citrus fruit, of the type in which the citrus fruits are cut into halves, and the fruit halves are caused to travel, oriented with their cut flat surfaces (presenting the pulp) in a predetermined direction, through a squeezing tunnel defined by two opposed surfaces which converge towards one another, so that the fruit halves are compressed and the juice and pulp are extracted, while the exhausted peels are discharged at the end of the squeezing tunnel.
There is known apparatus of the type in which the fruit halves are caused to travel along a squeezing tunnel which presents a fixed surface generally consisting of a grid-like or perforated wall, along which the cut surface (presenting the pulp) of the fruit half is pressed, so that the juice and pulp are expelled through the grid or perforations, while the other surface or wall of the squeezing tunnel consists of a portion of a rotating conveyor drum, the surface of which contacts the hemispherical or "peel" side of the fruit, thus causing the fruit to move along the squeezing tunnel, while progressively pressing them against the fixed surface. These known apparatuses, however, have the disadvantage that frequently the fruit halves, during their travel in the squeezing tunnel, as a consequence of the relative motion between the two surfaces, have the tendency to roll up or curl, thus causing obstruction of the tunnel. The rolling up and curling of the fruit halves moreover causes the rupturing of the fruit peel, and the expulsion of the peel oils which get mixed with the juice and therefore spoil its quality.
According to the present invention the apparatus for extracting juice from citrus fruit comprises a squeezing tunnel defined by two opposed converging surfaces one of which consists of a portion of the side surface of a rotating drum, which is intended to contact the peel side of the fruit, while the other one is constructed as a series of consecutive parallel rotating rollers arranged transversely with respect to the direction of movement of the first surface, which rollers are screw threaded on their side surface, and preferably present alternately right screw threads and left screw threads, or the same roller may present contiguous right screw thread and left screw thread sections.
In this manner, the fruit half which passes through the tunnel is subjected to the feeding action of the rotating rollers, the peripheral speed of which is higher than the speed of the surface of the rotating drum, and to a sidewise stretching action caused by the screw thread design of the rotating rollers, so that the rolling up and curling of the fruit halves is avoided, while at the same time a quicker and more efficient squeezing of the said fruits is obtained.
The above and other features of the invention will be clearly understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment of same, made with reference to the accompanying drawings.